Autumn is the time to get bees prepared for winter by feeding them a syrup solution made up of sugar and water.
Bees store honey during fall and winter to stay warm. Without proper care, your bees could succumb to starvation.
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Pollen
Once fall arrives, bees have few flowers to gather pollen from and no nectar flow. Without adequate nutrition, they cannot build up their population quickly; if left to starve to death.
Bees can store some pollen until they need it, but not very much. Some beekeepers give their hives a low-protein supplement called “winter patty” in the fall to help them through this time of year.
Bees that receive a pollen substitute often have higher titers of soluble protein in their hemolymph, which transports digested nutrients throughout their body (Cremonez et al., 1998; De Jong et al., 2009; Morais et al., 2013; Almeida-Dias et al., 2018).
McFrederick et al. (2012) reported a distinct bacterial community in stored pollen compared to that found in core gut bacteria (Anderson et al., 2013; Corby-Harris et al., 2014a). While we don’t know if stored pollen evolved for microbially mediated nutrient conversion, it does appear to have preservative properties by nature.
Honey
As autumn arrives, honey production naturally slows down. But if you find your bees are running low on honey or not storing enough for winter use of feeding as a management strategy.
A common method of feeding honeybees is to mix sugar syrup with water in a 2:1 ratio – two parts sugar to one part water by weight. This helps the bees conserve energy and reduce their need for water during wintertime, which plays an important role in keeping hives warm and comfortable.
It is best to feed sugar syrup early in the autumn, before all other flowers have faded away. An internal hive top feeder can also be beneficial here; keeping the syrup covered helps reduce the risk of robbery by neighboring colonies.
No matter the method of feeding, be sure the colony has enough stored honey to last winter. Without food and water, your bees could starve to death or suffer from an empty hive.
Beeswax
Beeswax is an organic substance produced by bees. It consists of around 300 organic substances such as hydrocarbons, acids, alcohols and fatty acids.
Bees produce wax to build their honeycombs. It typically has a yellow or golden hue, though color may vary depending on purity, region and flowers gathered during production.
Once formed, honeycombs are filled with honey and sealed off with more wax to prevent moisture loss. This ensures the bees have the ideal environment to develop their hive structure, store food resources, and breed more honeybees.
Beeswax can be used in a variety of ways after it has been rendered. It’s often an ingredient in cosmetics and skin care products due to its emollient qualities which soften and rehydrate skin cells. Beeswax may even serve as a moisturizer to help combat dryness on skin.
Water
Water is the essential nutrient for all life on Earth. Its colorless, odorless, and non-toxic nature ensures it covers three quarters of Earth’s surface in both frozen and liquid forms.
Water plays a crucial role in many biological processes, from cell membranes to enzymes and beyond. It’s essential for life on Earth’s surface as well as those living below the atmosphere.
A simple syrup can be mixed to feed bees in autumn. A 2:1 mixture (two parts sugar to one part water) of fall syrup will resemble honey and provide them with energy for winter storage.
Make this fall syrup by mixing one-two cups of sugar with two cups or less water, depending on how much syrup you want (volume or weight). Use hot but not boiling water to dissolve the sugar and stir until clear. Allow the mixture to cool before giving it to your bees; this helps break up any crystallized sugar crystals.
